Childish Mistakes
by Diana Moon Glampers
Summary: Family Circus fanfiction. The Keane Family visits some friends of the family when someone dies. The tragedy affects each member of the family in a different way.
1. Bil

Childish Mistakes

By Diana Moon Glampers

I don't own anything in this story. I don't even own my original characters. Go ahead and steal them, I don't give a sourdough loaf.

Chapter 1

Bil

Bil was pulling into the driveway of his friend's house, Darin. Bil had known Darin since high school and liked to keep in touch with him. His children loved visiting his house too. Darin was a very successful doctor and owned a pool in his backyard. Bil sometimes felt jealous of Darin. He was married to a woman named Martha. They never had any children and were very happy. Bil had four children and sometimes wished he had none. He thought about the times he and his wife Thelma talked about having children. He always wondered if it was ever a good idea.

Bil stopped the car and turned to his children. "We're here!" He said. "Yeah!" Jeffy shouted, climbing over his siblings to get out of the car. Jeffy loved the swimming pool. He never enjoyed Darin's company. In fact, subconsciously, Jeffy hated Darin because Darin never had any children for him to play with. Jeffy still enjoyed coming over to Darin's house, though.

Darin walked out of his house to greet The Keane family. "Bil! Glad to see you again!" He said. Bil shook his friend's hand. "How's it going, Darin? Anything new?" Bil asked. "Well, I've been reading a lot of really good books lately. I finally got around to Gulliver's Travels. I always wanted to try that one. It's amazing." Darin said. Bil tried to remember the last book he finished. It was a Hardy Boys novel he would periodically read Billy as a bedtime story. He always wanted to read Dan Brown, as Bil always thought his brand of historic adventure was interesting, but he never had the time to read anything on his own. "Well… Have you seen any good movies?" Bil asked, hoping to change the subject. "Well, I saw Avatar a while back. It was good, if a little cliché in concept." Darin said. Bil never saw Avatar. His children wanted to see it after getting toys based on the movie from their happy meals last year, but he had to tell them that it was too violent for children their age. He did see The DeVinci Code one night when he was fortunate enough to hire a sitter. "Did you ever see DeVinci Code? That one was good." Bil said. "Yeah. It was nice, but they got some of their facts wrong. Typical of Hollywood." Darin said.

Darin led Bil into his house. He looked over his shoulder to see where Thelma was. She was talking with Martha outside. "She'll be fine." Bil thought to himself. Once inside of Darin's house, Bil saw a very large cat. "Darin, is that a cheetah in your house?" Bil asked, nervous. Darin picked up his cat. The cat did not seem too happy that he was being picked up. "Who, this? This is Jake. He's a savannah cat." Bil said. "Savannah cat?" Bil said. He had never heard of that breed before. "It's a fancy cat breed, half ocelot. They're really cute, but they can tear up the furniture if you don't train them right." Darin said. He began cuddling Jake. "Isn't that right, Jake?" He said. Jake started to struggle. He hissed at Darin and jumped out of his arms.

Darin turned to Bil after Jake ran away. "Sorry. He gets nervous around strangers. Normally he loves being cuddled." He said. "It's a pretty cool cat. Is… Is it okay if you don't get him near my kids, though? Those claws looked pretty sharp." Bil said. "Yeah, they are. He scratched me real good a couple of times when he was a baby." Darin said. "Well… I'm glad my kids never hurt me like that." Bil said. "Well, I would have kids too…" Darin said. "What do you mean?" Bil asked, intrigued. "I'm going to be blunt, Bil. I'm sterile. I can't have kids. Ever. Martha and I, we tried for about a year now, and I even saw a doctor about it. I'm sterile. There's no way around it. That's why we have Jake." Darin said. "That's… unfortunate." Bil said. Darin led Bil to his kitchen. "Here, why don't we both relax, maybe kick back a couple of beers, and watch the game, right?" Darin said.

Darin reached into his refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of beer. They both looked foreign. Bil had never heard of the name before, and he could not read it either. "Darin, where are these from?" He asked. "I imported them from Japan. Try it, you'll like it." Darin said. Bil opened it up, and tasted the beer. It was very strong, the strongest tasting beer Darin had ever tried. "Wow." He said, finishing his sip. "That stuff packs a punch."

Bil sat down with Darin in the living room, which had a fairly tattered chair Darin sat on. "Sorry about the chair. Jake likes to scratch it. I'll have to get a new one someday." He said. He turned on the television to watch a baseball game. It was very relaxing for Bil. He sat back, drinking his imported beer, and watching a slow game of baseball. "I wonder what my life would have been like if I never had any kids." Bil thought to himself. He imagined himself like his friend, Darin, living in a fancy house, able to afford nice things, and being able to enjoy intelligent books. It was a life he threw away the minute he conceived his first son Billy. He remembered the night, how he was young and looking forward to a beautiful future with his beautiful wife. He was happy with his life now, but it was very stressful, trying to raise four children and have a job. He wished he had fewer kids, less of them to keep in line, less of them to make his life stressful. He laughed to himself upon thinking of this. It wasn't a normal laugh, though. It was a melancholy, wistful laugh. "What is it?" Darin asked. "Sorry. I get a little sentimental when I drink." Bil said.


	2. Thelma

Chapter 2

Thelma

Thelma was talking with Darin's wife, Martha, when Bil and Darin walked inside. Martha was a very beautiful woman, and fairly intelligent too. Martha used to be envious of Thelma's looks back when they first met, back when their only child was Billy. Raising four children had taken a huge toll on Thelma's health, though. She looked older than she was. When she saw Martha, she wondered what happened to her body, how she could suddenly be envious of Martha's looks.

"So, is it okay for the kids to play in the pool?" Thelma asked. "I spent all last night cleaning it up, so it should be fine." Martha said. Thelma turned to her children, who were very eager to play in the swimming pool. "Hey kids, did you hear that? Go change into your swimsuits and play!" Thelma said. Her children raced to the bathroom. Billy was holding PJ's hand. "Come on, PJ! I'll help you get changed!" Billy said. Martha turned to Thelma. "Your baby can swim?" She said, impressed. "Well, kind of. We're teaching him. I brought a floatation device for him too, just in case." Thelma said. Thelma walked to the car and grabbed a blow up life preserver in the shape of a turtle. "We like to call him Mr. Toddly Turtle." Thelma said. Martha laughed. "That is so cute!" She said.

Thelma removed her clothes, revealing that she was wearing a swimsuit under them, and jumped into the pool with Mr. Toddly Turtle. Martha did the same and jumped in. Thelma noticed that Martha wore a far more revealing swimsuit. Thelma looked at herself and remembered why she could not wear such a thing. Stretch marks, C-section scars, and that fact that she barely ever exercised anymore. She was not ugly by any means. She just wanted to keep those parts of her body a secret. "Nice swimsuit." Thelma said, a little jealous. "Thanks. Darin loves it. He bought it for me a month ago." Martha said.

The Keane kids walked out of the house, now in their swimsuits. Jeffy was very excited, as he ran out of the house. "Don't run by the pool!" Thelma said to her son. Jeffy instantly slowed down. He was still the first one in. Martha smiled. "Your son really loves it here." Martha said. "I know." Thelma said, laughing. Dolly followed close behind, while Billy helped PJ into the water. Once PJ was in, he started to swim, until he began sinking. Thelma lifted him up and put him into Mr. Toddly Turtle. "There! Mr. Toddly Turtle loves you! He wants you to ride on him!" Thelma said.

Jeffy saw that PJ had a turtle pool toy. "Mom, why can't I have a Mr. Toddly Turtle?" Jeffy said. Thelma turned to Jeffy. "He needs it. PJ is still learning to swim, honey." Thelma said. "But mom!" Jeffy said. "Jeffy, please. Have fun. You're at the pool!" Thelma said, trying not to let her son get on her nerves. "Okay." Jeffy said, pouting.

Jeffy swam to PJ. PJ was smiling in his turtle life preserver. "Stupid PJ. I wish I were still the cutest one." Jeffy said. Jeffy remembered before PJ was born, back when he was the youngest. He felt like he was the center of the world, like everyone loved him and everyone was always paying attention to him. Now it was PJ who was the youngest, PJ who was getting the most attention, and PJ who was getting the coolest toys. Jeffy was very jealous. Even though he was jealous, his parents always told him to be nice to PJ, to play with him and make him feel like part of the family.

PJ stared at Jeffy with a very smug grin. "You're having the time of your life in that turtle, aren't you?" Jeffy said to his little brother. "Yes! Yes!" PJ said. PJ's vocabulary was very limited, but he did know some words. Jeffy rocked PJ's turtle. "Whoops! Here comes a wave!" Jeffy said. PJ laughed. He enjoyed playing with his brother Jeffy. "Here, let's get your head wet." Jeffy said. He tipped Mr. Toddly Turtle over, leaving PJ's legs in the air and quickly turned PJ back over, his head soaking wet. PJ enjoyed this. He laughed and splashed the pool water with his tiny arms. "Be careful playing with him." Thelma said, noticing Jeffy playing a little bit rough.

"Your kids are cute. What's it like having them?" Martha asked Thelma. "Well, it's good. There really is nothing like raising children. It's a lot of work, though. Too much, actually." Thelma said. "I know it's a lot of work. Well, I just wanted to know. We can't have any." Martha said. She moved in close to Thelma to whisper in her ear. "Darin's sterile." Thelma was shocked when she heard this. "He is?" Thelma said. "Well, at first we thought he just had… slow swimmers, but then we found out that the problem was a little more complicated." Martha said. "Oh. I'm sorry." Thelma said, a little bit disturbed.

At that moment, the Keane kids heard something almost every child in The United State recognized, the unmistakable music of an ice cream truck. "Ice cream!" Dolly shouted, jumping out of the water. "Ice cream!" Billy shouted, following his sister. They ran to the truck, which had stopped once the driver saw that there were children running towards him. "Don't run by the pool!" Thelma scolded, following her children. Martha jumped out of the pool too. "I should spoil myself. I love ice cream." She thought to herself. Jeffy capsized PJ's turtle while playing their game, when he heard the ice cream truck. "Stay right there, PJ. I'll be back with some ice cream." He said, smiling. He did not know the kind of danger he was subjecting to PJ.

"What do you kids want?" Thelma asked. She was still wet from the pool and was digging through her purse to find her wallet. "I want a spongebob pop!" Jeffy said. "We don't have those. How about an ice cream sandwich?" The ice cream man said. "I want a spongebob pop!" Jeffy said, with increasing anger. "Jeffy! If you keep that up you won't get any ice cream!" Thelma said. "But mom!" Thelma cut her son's words short. "You've been acting up all day, Jeffy. Pick an ice cream and be happy with it." Thelma said.

Martha had already ordered her ice cream. It was a popsicle. She turned to Billy. "Want a taste?" She asked. "Thanks!" Billy said. He bit a part off of it and at it. "You're nice, Martha. You're also very pretty." Billy said. "Well, thank you, Billy!" Martha said. Thelma finally found her wallet now. "Okay, what do you want?" Thelma asked. "I want a popsicle. A rocket pop!" Billy said. "I want an ice cream sandwich." Jeffy said, his arms crossed, still bitter about not being able to have a spongebob pop. "What about you, Dolly?" Thelma asked. Dolly was quiet. "Umm…." She said. Thelma was used to being patient with Dolly. "I want…" She said, trailing off. "Dolly, pick something." Thelma said. "I want… A sundae." She said. "We don't have those either." The ice cream man said. "Okay! I want a choco taco." Dolly said.

After Thelma finished paying for her kids' ice cream, she noticed something strange. "Where's PJ?" She said. "Oh, I left him in the pool. I promised him I'd be back to turn him back." Jeffy said. "Turn him back?" Thelma said, confused. She ran to the pool and saw her baby, upside down, with his legs in the air. He was completely limp. Thelma dove into the pool and grabbed her son out of the water. His body was cold and he wasn't moving. "PJ! PJ!" She shouted, with tears in her eyes. She turned to Martha, who was so shocked that she dropped her popsicle. "Call an ambulance!"


	3. PJ

Chapter 3

PJ

PJ lay in the pool, his lungs filled with water, dying. Being a baby, his dying thoughts were very simple. "Why did brother do this? It hurts. Come back, brother. I want back up!" As the life force left PJ's body, his eyes closed. He felt a strange, almost sinister feeling inside him. He could not remember being born, but he remembered what it felt like. He knew that feeling of being surrounded in the warm, liquid center of his mother's womb. He remembered feeling the doctor opening his mother up and tearing him from her, into the world. PJ felt as though he was returning into the dark, watery place where he was born, but it was not warm and comfortable. It was cold and painful. It was the most pain he had ever felt in his entire life. Then he died.

Once his mother discovered the death, she tried to rush PJ to the hospital, but it was too late. There was no way to revive him, no way to drain his lungs, and no way to bring him back. A baby had died that day. Bil and Thelma were devastated. They had everything planned for PJ, what preschool he was going to attend, what he was going to receive for Christmas, even a new bedtime song for him. All of this was gone now. His life was cut short. No one will ever know what kind of child he would become, what kind of adult he would become, or what his place was in life. It was all gone now. PJ had died as a baby.

PJ's body was taken to a coroner after he was presumed dead. Autopsy revealed struggling to get out of his floatation device and that it was clearly a case of drowning. His parents requested that the body be cremated. No one wants to go to a funeral and see a baby ready to be buried.


	4. Dolly

Chapter 4

Dolly

Dolly was at the funeral for PJ. Normally, she loved going to church. It meant getting into her very best clothes and meeting friends she would normally not meet in school. It was different for her, this time. She was going to church because of the death of her baby brother, PJ.

Dolly liked PJ better than Billy and Jeffy. Billy was always bossy, trying to lead her and Jeffy to whatever strange plan he had. Sometimes, Billy's plans were fun, but sometimes they ended in disappointment. Whenever one of Billy's plans backfired, Dolly's parents were always there to fix everything, to make everything better. A good example was when Billy was trying to dig to China in the backyard because he was hungry for Chinese food. It did not work out, and while digging, Dolly tripped over a rock Billy had unearthed. It was okay for her, though. Her parents gave her a bandage made her feel better by giving her ice cream.

It was very unsettling to Dolly, seeing her parents crying, and unable to do a thing about PJ's death. Dolly knew that her parents were not omnipotent, as much as she wanted to believe so. She did know that her god was omnipotent, though. He could see everything, do anything, and never cried, never showed weakness, and never meant wrong. Even though her parents could not give Dolly the world and make everything turn out right in the end, she believed that God could. She always thought of God when she was nervous, anxious, uncertain, or angry. Sometimes it made her feel better, if anything, for psychological reasons.

Dolly was in a room at the funeral. Many family members she normally never saw were there, talking with her parents, saying that they were sorry for the loss of a life so young. Jeffy was sitting in a chair, looking bored out of his mind. Dolly was with Billy, behind a poster board with pictures of PJ all over it.

"Dolly?" Billy asked. "Yeah?" She said. "Why do you think PJ died?" He asked, in a low, melancholy voice. Dolly answered with very certain words. "God wanted Jeffy to die." She said. "He did?" Billy said confused. "Angels took him away. He's never coming back." Dolly said. "What would God want with PJ?" Billy said, intrigued. "I don't know. It doesn't matter. It was God's will and God works in mysterious ways." Dolly said, quoting various Christmas specials she had seen through her short life.

There was a long silence. Billy's thoughts turned from intrigue to anger. "I don't like God." Billy said. "Don't say that! You're in his house!" Dolly whispered to Billy. "Why? God killed PJ. That's… That's just not right!" Billy said, raising his voice. "How would you like it if God went to your house and said you were a bad boy?" Dolly said, sneering at her brother. "I wouldn't like it, and I'd say God's being an even bigger meanie." Billy said. "God isn't a meanie! You don't want him to send an angel to kill you too?" Dolly said. Billy was silent. He hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Dolly." Billy said. "Good. You should be." Dolly said. "I just think that when someone's dead, they die. There's no changing that fact." Billy said. "I know. That's why you have to watch out and don't make God mad." Dolly said. The priest overheard what Dolly said and turned to her. "Little girl, your theology is a bit off." He said. Dolly had no idea what this meant, so she ignored him.

Dolly was bored with Billy. She did not want to be around him. She was afraid that angels with swords would fly in from the windows and take Billy and anyone around him away to die. She walked to Jeffy, who was still sitting in a chair, looking bored. "Hi, Jeffy." She said. "Hi, Dolly. I'm bored. I hate this." Jeffy said. "You're not supposed to hate it!" Dolly said. "Why? It's so boring!" Jeffy shouted. This attracted the attention of Bil. "Jeffy, be quiet and stop acting up. Do you understand me?" He said, in a very stern tone. "Yes, Daddy." Jeffy said, returned to his normal, bored look.


	5. Billy

Chapter 5

Billy

PJ's funeral was very emotional for Billy. He cried and sobbed almost the entire time. He missed his baby brother and his mind was developed enough to know the full consequences of what had happened. He was scared and disturbed too. His sister and remaining brother, Dolly and Jeffy, never cried at the funeral and never showed an ounce of sadness. Dolly simply sat there and did as she was told, like clockwork. When the procession was to stand, she stood up. When there was singing, she sang with them. When it was time to be quiet, she sat down. She seemed emotionless, like PJ's death had not affected her in any way.

Jeffy was even worse than Dolly. He looked bored and annoyed the whole time. He did not stand up when it was time to stand. He did not sing any of the songs usually reserved for Christian funerals. He sat there, sometimes pouting, like he had better things to do, like he was thinking of how much fun he could be having at home, playing with his toys or watching television instead of mourning the death of his baby brother. It did not seem right to Billy that his brother would be thinking of himself instead of the death of a loved one. He hid his anger with tears. It was a dark new feeling to Billy, hiding his anger in tears. It was something he had never done before, never had to do. He showed restraint and decided to confront Jeffy later.

Bil and Thelma did not notice Jeffy's behavior. They were too busy thinking about other things, blaming themselves for the death, and talking to family member they usually only saw a handful of times a year. Thelma was still trying to get over blaming herself. She believed she was the worst parent ever, killing her child through negligence, and suffering for it. It felt like just yesterday to her, when PJ was born. His life was like the blink of an eye, gone as fast as it came. She thought about suicide at times, but always reminded herself that she still has three children that are still alive. Sometimes she would try to reason with herself, thinking that they did not deserve a mother that would have killed her son, but then reasoned again that her children having a bad mother is better than having no mother.

Bil felt like he was at the bottom of a sea of guilt. He remembered wondering what life would have been like if he had fewer children that day, the day PJ died. He was sitting with his friend, Darin, drinking exotic beer while watching baseball. When he found that there was an emergency, he did not feel like drinking anymore. He felt as though fate was conspiring against him in the kind of way it does in cartoons. "Be careful what you wish for, Bil. You might just get it!" resonated in his head, continually taunting him. He had fewer children now, but he was not happy. He felt he had lost the ability to be happy.

"My life is like a cautionary tale." Bil thought, once the funeral was over. "It's like the lesson is that you should never want anything because life is going to give it to you and twist it into something you won't want." Bil thought to himself, wallowing in his despair. He drove home with his family, not saying a word.

Once the Keane family was home, Billy went to change out of his church clothes. Jeffy was changing too, looking annoyed the whole time. "Finally, the stupid funeral is stupid over." Jeffy said, changing. This outraged Billy. He loved PJ and respected his memory. He could not stand the thought of his brother not thinking the same, not showing the respect his deceased baby brother deserved. "You take that back!" Billy said. Jeffy responded by sticking his tongue out. Billy clenched his fist. He was ready to fight his brother.

"Take that back or I'll pummel you!" Billy said. "You won't pummel me. I'll pummel you!" Jeffy said. He began flexing his biceps, pretending he was a bodybuilder. Jeffy thought that Billy was playing. Sometimes they did play a little rough, or "roughhousing" as they called it. "I'm serious, Jeffy. Take back what you said about PJ's funeral!" Billy said. "Why? It was stupid and boring and I don't even miss him." Jeffy said. Billy was infuriated now. He swung his fist into Jeffy's face. Tears of rage ran down from Billy's eyes. He screamed and growled like a feral dog, unable to control himself in his fit of anger.

Jeffy was terrified and in pain. He tried to kick Billy in the stomach, but his brother overpowered him and punched him in the face again. Jeffy has a bloody nose now, and Billy mercilessly punched him further, each blow being faster and harder than the last. "Brother! Stop! Why are you hurting me?" Jeffy said, crying, and curling up into a fetal position. "Shut up! I'll make your face look like the inside of a cherry pie!" Billy shouted, with more tears running down his face. Before Billy could hurt his brother any more, Thelma barged in. "What are you too doing? Stop fighting, both of you!"

Thelma noticed that Jeffy was on the floor, bloody, weeping, and looked like a clear victim. Billy was unharmed and he had Jeffy's blood on his knuckles. "Billy, go to your room and don't leave. I'll get to you later." She said. "I… I'm sorry." Billy said. "Do it now!" Thelma shouted. Billy walked away, knowing that he was in a lot of trouble. Thelma turned to Jeffy. He was still sobbing. "It's okay. Mommy's here. We can get you a band aid." Thelma said.

Once Jeffy's nose was no longer bleeding, Jeffy stopped crying. "So, what happened?" Thelma said. "Billy started it. He threw the first punch." Jeffy said. "I don't care who started it. What happened?" Thelma asked. "Well…" Jeffy said, still not entirely sure why Billy started beating him, "Billy got mad and I thought he was playing, but then he started hitting me and wouldn't stop." Jeffy said. "Why was he mad?" Thelma asked. "I don't know." Jeffy said, completely oblivious to why Billy would be angry. "You don't know?" Thelma said, interested. "Yeah. Billy isn't going to grow up to be a supervillian, is he?" Jeffy said, honestly afraid of such a notion. "No, he isn't. Go up to your room. I'll have more to talk with you." Thelma said. "Okay." Jeffy said.

Thelma walked to Billy's room and opened the door. Billy was very sad. "Mom, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit Jeffy." He said. "That's right, you shouldn't have. Why were you hitting him?" She asked. "Jeffy was being mean. He told me that PJ's funeral was stupid and boring and he didn't miss him." Billy said. Thelma was very surprised. "Oh my. That isn't a very nice thing to say at all. You still shouldn't have punched him, though." Thelma said. "Yeah, I know." Billy said. "Well, stay in there. I'm going to have to talk to Jeffy." Thelma said.

Thelma walked back to Jeffy's room. He had grown bored in the time it took for his mother to talk to Billy and was playing with a toy space ship. "Oh, him Mom! You just came in at the best part! Captain Jeffy's surrounded in aliens and needs help!" Jeffy said. "Put the toy down, Jeffy." Thelma said. "You don't want to play?" Jeffy said. Normally, Thelma enjoyed quality time playing with her children, but this was not the time. "No. I want to talk." She said in a stern voice. Jeffy knew that voice. He was in big trouble.

"Billy said that you didn't like PJ's funeral." Thelma said. "Yeah. I didn't. Why did you have to drag me along?" Jeffy said. "Because when a loved one dies, you're supposed to miss him." Thelma said. "Yeah, but I hated PJ. I'm glad he's dead and up in baby heaven." Jeffy said, being supremely insensitive. "Jeffy, that's very mean!" Thelma said. "What did I do wrong, Mom?" He asked. "Well, would you like it if no one came to your funeral? Would you like it if you died and no one missed you?" Thelma said. "Yeah, that would be great. No one has to go and be sad at church and no one cries." Jeffy said. Thelma could not believe what her son had just said. "Go to bed, right now!" She shouted. "But Mom!" Jeffy said in protest. "No! You go to bed! No dinner! No dessert! You go to bed!" Thelma shouted. "I'm not sleepy!" Jeffy protested. "If you're not sleepy, then think about what you've done and think about how hurtful you've been! Now go to bed!" Thelma shouted. She turned off the lights in Jeffy's room and left, closing the door behind her.


	6. Jeffy

Chapter 6

Jeffy

Jeffy sat in his bed that night, alone, thinking. He thought about why everyone would be so upset that he did not miss PJ. He was glad that the baby had died. Jeffy saw this as a return to form for him, a return to the old ways, the ways he was used to, and the ways he knew before PJ came along. He remembered back in those days that were glorious to him, the days before PJ. He was the youngest child in the Keane family. He received all of the attention from everyone. He remembered how his parents seemed to care for him the most, be around him all the time, make his brother Billy and his sister Dolly jealous of him. He felt like his parents loved him more than the others. Jeffy's earliest memory involved himself as a baby, alone with his mother, as an infant. No one was in the room except him and Thelma. She was nursing him through a bottle. He was happy, she was happy, and it was the most beautiful moment Jeffy could comprehend. He dreamed of a day Billy and Dolly grew up and left the house, so he could always be alone with no one but his mother.

Jeffy resented his father, Bil. He did not hate him by any means, in fact Jeffy loved him. His father could bring him whatever he wanted and rarely ever had it in him to say "no". He never actually punished Jeffy, always shrugging off disciplinary duties to Thelma. Jeffy was always crushed whenever his mother was angry with him. It was like his dream of him being alone and happy with his mother shattered whenever it happened.

Then, as time went by, Jeffy started to notice that things were changing. Being a child, Jeffy was not accustomed to change and was not welcome to this new development. His mother had been growing fatter and fatter every day. She explained to Jeffy that there was a baby growing inside of her. A new baby was going to be entering the family. Jeffy was worried at first, worried that the baby might be bad, until Thelma convinced him that he could play with the new baby and it would be like having a new friend. Then, Jeffy was excited, only for him to be disappointed.

Once PJ was born, Jeffy thought that he would be born eager to play and to become his new best friend. Instead, he was fragile. Jeffy was not even allowed to touch him until he was more than a month old. Bil and Thelma were always paying attention to PJ, always taking special care and extra time to feed him, play with him, immediately tend to his every wish, and most of all to Jeffy, take time away from everything else in the world. He could only watch as his delusions slipped away. His delusion that he was special, that his parents loved him more than anything in the world including Billy and Dolly, and his delusion that he was the center of the universe, that he was the most important thing in the lives of everyone he knew. It was like the world Jeffy knew was being shattered and replaced with a far more realistic world, one more focussed on the lives of others, on interacting with others, and with living in a world instead of controlling it. The very concept of this world destroyed his dream, his dream of a time of only him and his mother, alone and happy.

Part of Jeffy's subconscious knew very well that PJ would drown if left underwater, unattended. Part of him wanted PJ dead, no matter how much pain and suffering it caused others. As long as it brought him closer to his dream, his dream of a world with just him and his mother, he could live with the consequences. Jeffy did not consciously think any of this, though. Consciously, he mostly thought of television, toys, playing, and other things considered normal of children his age.

The worst part was that Jeffy was completely unaware that any of these thoughts, these actions, and these fantasies that he has been having for the past few years of his life are completely wrong. His sense of right and wrong are so undeveloped and clouded by his anger toward anything that gets between him and his mother that he could not think in a way that is considered normal.

Jeffy never felt badly about his actions, never regretted them, and the most punishment he ever received for anything involving the death of his baby brother PJ was on that night. Go straight to bed. No dinner. No dessert.

The End

Diana's note- I am aware that not everyone is going to like that Jeffy pretty much got away with murder in this story. If you believe in some kind of divine law, then by all means, apply whatever punishment you think is necessary to Jeffy be it physical, mental, or spiritual. Jeffy's Oedipal Complex won't go away over night, you know. Even though the story is over, the character's lives are not. Remember that when reaching the end of a story. Always.


End file.
